Christian Yelich

Yelich backed up his strong finish to the 2013 season with a sophomore breakout at age 22. He truly arrived down the stretch, catching fire during a .339/.425/.459 August as he put up his first 20-ste...

A strong spring training to open the 2013 season put Yelich on the fast-track toward the majors, and after pounding out a .275/.359/.504 line across three stops in the minors, the sweet-swinging lefty made his MLB debut in late July. He knocked a pair of hits out of the two-hole in his debut, driving home his first major league RBI, and never looked back. At 21 years old, with just under 1,200 minor league at-bats to his name, Yelich posted a stellar .288/.370/.396 slash line in his first 62 major league games, adding four home runs and 10 steals. Not without his warts, Yelich struggled mightily versus left-handed pitching, collecting just 15 hits in 91 at-bats (.165 average) against southpaws while watching his strikeout rate and walk rate both move in the wrong direction when a lefty was on the mound. Still, the future remains bright for an emerging talent capable of a .290 average, double-digit home runs and 20-plus steals right now, with potential to add some balance to his platoon split and strength to his power stroke down the line.

2013

Consider to be the most exciting offensive prospect in the Marlins' minor league system, Yelich made strides in 2012 while playing the majority of his season at High-A Jupiter. He posted a strong .330/.404/.519 line over 397 at-bats while blasting 12 home runs with 29 doubles and five triples while driving in 48 runs on the year. Yelich enjoyed yet another efficient campaign on the basepaths, swiping 20 bags in 26 attempts after going 32-for-37 in that area in 2011. While a shot at the big leagues seems a bit of a stretch in 2013, Yelich should continue to progress towards that goal and could be fast-tracked to Miami as part of the franchise's most recent rebuilding effort.

2012

Ah, the sweet lefty swing. Every once in a while a player comes along who has it, and scouts swoon over that pure unfettered stroke, projecting great things from it. Yelich is the latest example, and while some folks see him turn on a pitch and start throwing around comparisons to Mark Grace or John Olerud, it's important to remember that he could just as easily end up as the next Hal Morris or Dave Magadan. For now he's a kid who's trying to cut it in left field despite an awkward throwing motion, in case he doesn't develop enough power to fit at first base. His first season of full-season ball was mostly a success, with the 32 steals in 37 attempts being a very pleasant surprise, but he didn't put up outrageous triple slash numbers. Until we see a concrete spike in that batting average or slugging percentage, don't fall too much in love with that swing.